Mumbai actor Vidya Balan, who returned to the ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’ franchise with the recently released third installment, says the success of the first film helped change the perception of her as the filmmakers realized that she could handle more complex and unconventional roles.

Balan, who played the role of Avni/Manjulika opposite Akshay Kumar in Priyadarshan’s 2007 hit ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’, said the film opened up new opportunities for her.

“People realized there was another facet. I don’t know if it was driven by that, but ‘Ishqiya’ came to me after that. When people see you do different things, their minds open up to possibilities.

“It was a huge commercial success, so I’m sure it must have influenced people’s decisions,” Balan told PTI in an interview.

The actor said that her father still has a complaint that Balan did not win any awards for her performance in the film.

“I said, ‘It’s OK.’ But four years in a row after that, I won best actress awards in most places. So things always balance out,” said Balan, referring to her wins for “Paa”, “Ishqiya”, “The Dirty Picture”. and “Kahaani”.

Despite the popularity of the first part, Balan and Kumar did not appear in the sequel, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’, which was released in 2022. Directed by Anees Bazmee, the film featured an almost entirely new cast, with Rajpal Yadav being the exception. , and became a major box office hit upon release.

Balan returned to the franchise with ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ which opened in theaters on November 1 and was a smash hit. ₹160 crore at the domestic box office.

“Both Priyan and Anees bhai are directors who trust their actors… When I read it, I found it so entertaining. With Anees bhai as the director, I knew it could be better,” she said.

After working with the two filmmakers, the actor said that they are both “similar in many ways, but they are different”.

“They both do comedy very well. I think Anees bhai is the kind of director who knows how to capture the audience’s attention and keep them engaged in every scene. I loved watching him work every scene.

“Even in the edit, he’s so gentle, he knows how to keep it good and how to keep the audience engaged and entertained. It was great,” she added.

Balan revealed that he re-watched ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’ after he was offered his third film.

“I said, ‘Let me see that again.’ It had been 10 to 15 years since I watched ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’, and I enjoyed my pre and post release films from time to time. last year after Dada died,” she said.

Asked about the mixed reviews of ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’, Balan said that it is not a ‘critic’s film’.

“Someone said to me, ‘Did you read the reviews?’ I said, “No.” Anyway, I haven’t read it and I’m not reading it this time because it’s not a movie you read reviews for,” she added.

Post ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’, the actor said he is looking for a comedy as he is a fan of the genre. She also wondered about the lack of “female-led comedy films”.

“When was the last time, ‘Tanu Weds Manu’, ‘Piku’ and ‘Tumhari Sulu’—just three films? We had films like ‘Seeta Aur Geeta’ and ‘Chaalbaaz’, I die for those films. ,” Balan said, adding that these days “women don’t feel comfortable making fun of themselves.”

“… Especially given the culture we’re in today, the sensitivities are so high. I think comedies ask you to break the rules, you have to make fun of yourself and therefore others. We need to take less of ourselves. serious.”

Balan also called for a change in the way women-centric films are approached. She believes that the current landscape has become somewhat repetitive.

“We girls are having fun and that should be seen on screen. We’re kind of stuck in that space, it requires a reinvention… I want us to own our space. I hope there’s a lot of interesting content, varied characters and genres, so we can tell our kind of stories.”

The actor also said that he often does not enjoy seeing women in action avatars.

“If it’s part of the story, then fine. I don’t like action movies anyway. Female-led action movies need to have more substance. Some things are unique to us and we should accept that,” said it.

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